Facebook Manipulated 689,003 Users’ Emotions For Science

Facebook is the best human research lab ever. There’s no need to get experiment participants to sign pesky consent forms as they’ve already agreed to the site’s data use policy. A team of Facebook data scientists are constantly coming up with new ways to study human behavior through the social network. When the team releases papers about what it’s learned from us, we often learn surprising things about Facebook — such as the fact that it can keep track of the status updates we never actually post. Facebook has played around with manipulating people before — getting 60,000 to rock the vote in 2012 that theoretically wouldn’t have otherwise — but a recent study shows Facebook playing a whole new level of mind gamery with its guinea pigs users. As first noted by Animal New York, Facebook’s data scientists manipulated the News Feeds of 689,003 users, removing either all of the positive posts or all of the negative posts to see how it affected their moods. If there was a week in January 2012 where you were only seeing photos of dead dogs or incredibly cute babies, you may have been part of the study. Now that the experiment is public, people’s mood about the study itself would best be described as “disturbed.”

The researchers, led by data scientist Adam Kramer, found that emotions were contagious. “When positive expressions were reduced, people produced fewer positive posts and more negative posts; when negative expressions were reduced, the opposite pattern occurred,” according to the paper published by the Facebook research team in the PNAS. “These results indicate that emotions expressed by others on Facebook influence our own emotions, constituting experimental evidence for massive-scale contagion via social networks.”

The experiment ran for a week — January 11–18, 2012 — during which the hundreds of thousands of Facebook users unknowingly participating may have felt either happier or more depressed than usual, as they saw either more of their friends posting ’15 Photos That Restore Our Faith In Humanity’ articles or despondent status updates about losing jobs, getting screwed over by X airline, and already failing to live up to New Year’s resolutions. “*Probably* nobody was driven to suicide,” tweeted one professor linking to the study, adding a “#jokingnotjoking” hashtag.

The researchers — who may not have been thinking about the optics of a “Facebook emotionally manipulates users” study — jauntily note that the study undermines people who claim that looking at our friends’ good lives on Facebook makes us feel depressed. “The fact that people were more emotionally positive in response to positive emotion updates from their friends stands in contrast to theories that suggest viewing positive posts by friends on Facebook may somehow affect us negatively,” they write.

They also note that when they took all of the emotional posts out of a person’s News Feed, that person became “less expressive,” i.e. wrote less status updates. So prepare to have Facebook curate your feed with the most emotional of your friends’ posts if they feel you’re not posting often enough.

So is it okay for Facebook to play mind games with us for science? It’s a cool finding but manipulating unknowing users’ emotional states to get there puts Facebook’s big toe on that creepy line. Facebook’s data use policy — that I’m sure you’ve all read — says Facebookers’ information will be used “for internal operations, including troubleshooting, data analysis, testing, research and service improvement,” making all users potential experiment subjects. And users know that Facebook’s mysterious algorithms control what they see in their News Feed. But it may come as a surprise to users to see those two things combined like this. When universities conduct studies on people, they have to run them by an ethics board first to get approval — ethics boards that were created because scientists were getting too creepy in their experiments, getting subjects to think they were shocking someone to death in order to study obedience and letting men live with syphilis for study purposes. A 2012 profile of the Facebook data team noted, “ Unlike academic social scientists, Facebook’s employees have a short path from an idea to an experiment on hundreds of millions of people.” This study was partially funded by a government body — the Army Research Office — and via @ZLeeily, the PNAS editor on the article says this study did pass muster with an Institutional Review Board, but we’ll see if it passes muster with users.

In it’s initial response to the controversy around the study — a statement sent to me late Saturday night — Facebook doesn’t seem to really get what people are upset about, focusing on privacy and data use rather than the ethics of emotional manipulation and whether Facebook’s TOS lives up to the definition of “informed consent” usually required for academic studies like this. “This research was conducted for a single week in 2012 and none of the data used was associated with a specific person’s Facebook account,” says a Facebook spokesperson. “We do research to improve our services and to make the content people see on Facebook as relevant and engaging as possible. A big part of this is understanding how people respond to different types of content, whether it’s positive or negative in tone, news from friends, or information from pages they follow. We carefully consider what research we do and have a strong internal review process. There is no unnecessary collection of people’s data in connection with these research initiatives and all data is stored securely.”

Ideally, Facebook would have a consent process for willing study participants: a box to check somewhere saying you’re okay with being subjected to the occasional random psychological experiment that Facebook’s data team cooks up in the name of science. As opposed to the commonplace psychological manipulation cooked up advertisers trying to sell you stuff.

Kentucky Hemp Coalition

QUOTE
“That's my goal as AG Commissioner to continue to build new markets for new agricultural crops and that industrial hemp is a viable option for Kentucky. We know it will grow well in this climate. Used to be the leading crop in Kentucky,”
Agriculture Commissioner
James Comer
kentuckyhempcoalition.
blogspot.com/

A Democracy

"A Democracy is when two wolves

and a sheep take a vote on what's

for dinner. A Republic is when the

sheep is well armed and can beg to

differ with the vote.

" Benjamin Franklin"

22 years ago...
Marijuana, in its natural form, is one of the safest therapeutically active substances known to man.
...
The judge recommends that the Administrator transfer marijuana from Schedule I to
Schedule II.

Francis L. Young
Administrative Law Judge
September 6, 1988
Docket No. 86-22
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Drug Enforcement Administration
33 years ago...
"Penalties against drug use should not be more damaging to an individual than the use of the drug itself. Nowhere is this more clear than in the laws against the possession of marijuana in private for personal use."

President Jimmy Carter
Message to Congress
August 2, 1977

Kentucky, “Dark and Dangerous Ground”

The Dark and Bloody Ground

The popular belief that the name Kentucky means "Dark and Bloody Ground" is apparently without foundation. Yet through the years, the image has persisted in literary and oral tradition as a description of the Kentucky country.

One traditional explanation sites Delaware legend in which the ancient tribe of the Lenni-Lanape allied with the Iroquois to fight the Allegewi, the original inhabitants of Kentucky. In a single bloody battle the Allegewi were virtually exterminated. The land where an entire nation had been eradicated became known as the "dark and bloody ground". The violent clashes between the Iroquois and the southern Indians only helped reinforce the image.

In his book, "Historical Sketches of Kentucky" (1874), Richard H. Collins says that a northern Indian once asked Indian fighter Joseph H. Daveiss how white men could live in land that had seen so much bloodshed. The Indian said that the ghosts of those killed in the Indian wars haunted the land making it dangerous.

At the execution of the Treaty of Sycamore Shoals the Cherokee Cheif Dragging Canoe is said to have told Col. Richard Henderson that the lands south of the Kentucky river were "bloody ground"and would be "dark and difficult to settle". However Ruben T. Durrett said in his book, "The Centenary of Kentucky"(1892) that the phrase was used to discourage Henderson from purchasing the land.

Our Environment

Toxic chemicals in our environment, such as mercury, lead, and certain manmade chemicals, have been linked to cancer, birth defects and brain impairments. Reducing or eliminating the load of these dangerous chemicals in the products we buy, the air we breathe, the food we eat and the water we drink can help reduce the toll of human disease and suffering.

http://www.nrdc.org/health/default.asp

PLEASE DO NOT USE!

PLEASE DO NOT USE SO CALLED "SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA" OR "SPICE" SOLD UNDER AN EVER INCREASING VARIETY OF NAMES!
IT IS NOT MARIJUANA AT ALL AND I AM INSULTED THAT THE WORDS SYNTHETIC MARIJUANA ARE USED TO DESCRIBE THESE SUBSTANCES! "FAKE DRUGS" WOULD SUFFICE!
THEY KILL!
PLEASE COPY AND OPEN THE LINK BELOW TO READ ONE STORY ABOUT THESE "FAKE DRUGS"!
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/60e0b41dcfeb4c8896f89c4a7409dc99/KY--Synthetic-Drugs/
PARENTS, WATCH YOUR CHILDREN! BETTER TO OFFER THEM THE REAL THING THAN TAKE A CHANCE ON THEM GETTING A HOLD OF SUCH GOD-AWFUL SUBSTANCES!
"...Officials said the powdery substance sold as bath salts mimic the effects of cocaine, ecstasy and LSD. It can be snorted, injected or mixed with drinks for food. The chemicals can cause hallucinations, paranoia, rapid heart rates, violent behavior and suicidal thoughts.
Synthetic marijuana contains organic leaves coated with chemicals that provide a marijuana-like high when smoked. The product is marketed under various brands include Spice and K2.
The synthetic drugs can be purchased on the Internet and in some tobacco and smoke shops, drug paraphernalia shops, gas stations and convenience stores..."
OF NOTE: THESE PRODUCTS ARE MOST OFTEN USED BY THOSE WHO ARE FORCED TO SUBMIT TO "DRUG TESTIING"....
THAT IS WHY THAT THEY HAVE BECOME SO POPULAR ALONG WITH THE FACT THAT THEY ARE READILY AVAILABLE FOR SALE TO MINORS - OR SOMEONE WHO WOULD PURCHASE FOR A MINOR.
THIS HAS TO STOP!

PoliticoMitch McConnells Love Affair with HempPoliticoThe story of how Mitch McConnell evolved on the hemp issue began in 2010. Rand Paul, a Tea Party favorite, was running to replace the retiring Jim Bunning in the U.S. Senate and spent much of the primary season blasting McConnell, who not only ...Mitch McConnell, hemp heroGristHemp Legalization Advocates […]

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SalonMy libertarian vacation nightmare: How Ayn Rand, Ron Paul & their groupies ...SalonI read the books by Charles Murray and have an autographed copy of Ron Paul's “The Revolution.” The thread that links all the disparate books and ideas is that they fail in practice. Eliminate all taxes, privatize everything, load a country up with ...and more » […]

CBS NewsRand Paul's balancing act: What to do with Ron Paul's legacy?CBS NewsIn 2012, Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul was a force to be reckoned with in the presidential race. His group of supporters - including many young voters - was limited, but passionate. Though he wasn't considered a serious contender for the Republican ...Ron Paul: Congr […]

Ron Paul: 'I'm not pro-Russian. I'm pro-facts'CNNWashington (CNN) Ron Paul defended his controversial stance Friday that the United States should stay out of the crisis between Ukraine and Russia, and joked that he's "considering" supporting his son, Rand Paul, if the senator from Kentucky runs for ...and more »

In an effort to expand mental health services to veterans in western Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear, and state and federal veterans officials are announcing the start of telemental health services out of the Joseph “Eddie” Ballard Western Kentucky Veterans Center in Hanson.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold a meeting in Pikeville next month to receive public comments on a rate increase proposed by Mountain Water District. The Thursday, April 16, meeting will be held in conjunction with a public comment meeting on the rate increase sought by Kentucky Power Co.

Kentucky educators who wish to enhance their lessons can take advantage of a Kentucky Arts Council grant that brings professional artists to the classroom for short residencies. Tom MusgraveCommunications Director502-564-3757, ext. 489tomr.musgrave@ky.gov

In an effort to expand mental health services to veterans in western Kentucky, Gov. Steve Beshear, and state and federal veterans officials are announcing the start of telemental health services out of the Joseph “Eddie” Ballard Western Kentucky Veterans Center in Hanson. Kerri RichardsonTerry Sebastian502-564-2611

The nation is taking notice of Kentucky’s record-breaking 2014 economic development efforts. Gov. Steve Beshear today announced that Kentucky placed first nationally in Site Selection magazine’s annual Governor’s Cup rankings for new and expanded industry activity per capita in 2014. Kerri RichardsonTerry Sebastian502-564-2611

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) will hold three meetings to receive public comments on a rate increase proposed by Kentucky Power Co. The meetings will be March 24 in Hazard, March 25 in Louisa and April 16 in Pikeville. Andrew Melnykovych502-782-2564 or 502-564-3940502-330-5981 (cell)Andrew.Melnykovych@ky.gov

… idea of industrial hemp farming in Kentucky, so long as our farmers receive a waiver from the feder … However, putting hemp seeds into Kentucky soil is simply not legal at this time. … about industrial hemp farming in Kentucky.http://ag.ky.gov/bio/trackjack/2013/pages/september-27.aspx - 52KB […]

Agenda Item D-2 LEGISLATIVE WRAP-UP May 22, 2000 In addition to the biennial budget (discussed in Agenda Item G-3), several important pieces of legislation were passed in the last few days of the session. … http://cpe.ky.gov/nr/rdonlyres/58e375da-9ead-420f-aa48-dfd58a523d21/0/agendad_2.pdf - 43KB

Security Turbulences to World Order: Bringing our Humanity and Planet Back Into Balance RemarksDavid M. LunaSenior Director for Anticrime Programs, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs Florida International Summit Orlando, FL February 26, 2015 Good morning. It is an honor to be here to speak and participate at this year’s Florida Int […]

by Ruth Bamberger, Legislative Committee Chair Cumberland Chapter, Sierra Club The Kentucky General Assembly officially opened January 6th with the swearing in of all 100 Representatives and 37 Senators. The Democrats have a 54-46 edge in the House and the … Continue reading →

PLEASE JOIN US … this Saturday, August 9th, in the Community Room at the Midway Branch Library, Northside Drive (on the road to the Northside Elementary School) for an important meeting on water issues in Kentucky, and how we can work … Continue reading →

New York, March 3, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the murder of Colombian radio journalist Edgar Quintero and calls on authorities to thoroughly investigate all motives and hold the killers to account. Quintero is the second journalist to have been killed in fewer than three weeks in Colombia.

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New York, March 2, 2015--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists to ensure the safety of journalists covering the conflict in east Ukraine after photographer Serhiy Nikolayev was reported to have been killed by shelling on Saturday. The Ukrainian photographer, who worked for Kiev-based daily Segodnya […]

São Paulo, March 2, 2015--Brazilian authorities should immediately investigate the murder of radio journalist Ivanildo Viana, identify the motive, and bring the killers to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Bangkok, March 2, 2015--A journalist in Myanmar was detained by police on Friday in connection with a satirical image he posted on Facebook about renewed hostilities between government forces and an ethnic rebel group in the country's northeastern Shan State, according to news reports. Aung Nay Myo was released today without charge, the reports said. […]

I am a Kentucky veteran with PTSD. I've used pot in the past to help me deal with things from 1967 when I was in Vietnam until 2ooo something. In 1970 I was in the Louisville, Ky. V.A.M.C. for what became PTSD all they did for me was too fill me full of drugs. Drugs like those only make you homeless. Pot let me make some money doing small home repair. A […]

I use cannabis for panic attacks and I've used it for years and I have been on three different pills for my disorder and I quit taking them because of the side effects.marijuana has no side effects you don't get hangovers you don't get sick when you don't have it .its the perfect prescription

This is INSANE, someone take care of this patient! I can tell you right now the cardiologist not seeing her has NOTHING to do with Medical Marijuana. The Doctor won't see her because of the “leadless pacemakers” being in experimental status!!! This is common sense my friends!

Quotes

If ever a time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in Government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin. Samuel Adams 1776

If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.
- Thomas Jefferson

“I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky.” -- Abraham Lincoln

“Tough girls come from New York. Sweet girls, they're from Georgia. But us Kentucky girls, we have fire and ice in our blood. We can ride horses, be a debutante, throw left hooks, and drink with the boys, all the while making sweet tea, darlin'. And if we have an opinion, you know you're gonna hear it.” -- Ashley Judd